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Tuesday, December 08, 2015

I am so proud of UT Education Policy and Planning doctoral student Greg Worthington
for setting the record straight on U.S.-born, turban-wearing basketball
star, Darsh Singh, and in so doing, taking direct action against the
divisive forces of bigotry and anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of
Donald Trump's incendiary call for banning the immigration of Muslims to
the U.S. His Facebook post went viral and I'm so happy about this. The forces of good are greater indeed than the forces of darkness and ill will that if left unchecked, can find their way into policy.

A “joke” floating around the Internet featuring a turbaned man playing basketball has been shot down by the man’s friend.

The joke features a picture of the man dribbling with the caption,
“No one wants to guard Muhammad, he’s too explosive.” But fellow Texan
and graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, Greg
Worthington, posted to Facebook that he knows the player. He’s not Muslim or Arab, and his name is not Muhammad.

“His name is Darsh Singh and he’s a US citizen, born and bred. That
jersey he’s wearing in this pic, it currently sits in a Smithsonian
Museum in Washington, DC because he made US history as the NCAA’s first
turbaned Sikh American basketball player for Trinity University in my
hometown of San Antonio,” Worthington wrote.

Singh was co-captain of the university basketball team when the
picture was taken, he said. Since then he has worked in U.S.
intelligence and the National Security Agency, and currently manages
financial portfolios for “some of the most compassionate companies in
the US.”

Worthington pointed out that Sikhs have often been targeted for
violence because they are frequently mistaken for Muslim. In one of the
more high-profile cases, a white gunman stormed a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, killing six people.

But even if he was a Muslim or if he was Arab, this still doesn’t
make the joke okay and it still doesn’t give you reason to believe that
person is inherently evil or that they deserve harm,” Worthington wrote.

Worthington also linked to articles that show Singh’s accomplishments, from sports to business.

Most responses to Worthington’s post were positive.

“It’s incredibly touching to have friends and community members stand
for what is right, and it’s heartening to be reminded of what I truly
believe — that there is far more light and goodness in this world than
there is darkness,” wrote Simran Jeet Singh, Senior Religion Fellow at
The Sikh Coalition. “It also reminds me of something my parents always
taught me — relationships really matter.”

Let
me tell you why this shit isn't funny. I know this guy and his name's
not 'Muhammad.' He's not Arab, he's Punjabi. He's not even Muslim,
he's a Sikh. His name is Darsh Singh
and he's a US citizen, born and bred. That jersey he's wearing in this
pic, it currently sits in a Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC because
he made US history as the NCAA's first turbaned Sikh American
basketball player for Trinity University in my hometown of San Antonio.
He was co-captain of that team when he played there. He's worked in US
Intelligence with the National Security Agency in the past and
currently manages financial portfolios and hedge funds for some of the
most compassionate companies in the US. Above all those things, he's a
really nice guy, very funny, and he's a great friend of my younger
brother whom I was more than happy to befriend myself.

People need to understand, this stuff hurts people. You might think
it's funny but that's mainly because you don't know the guy. Perhaps if
you did, then you would see this differently. But even if I didn't
know Darsh, I still wouldn't think this was funny. Why? Because things
like this pic teach people to be afraid of those who are different than
you. What you might not know is that Sikhs have a history in the US
and abroad of being mistaken for being Muslim and thus being accused of
terrorism. This usually leads to them being attacked and even killed
because someone stupid thought they deserved to be beaten, injured, or
killed because of their religion. But even if he was a Muslim or if he
was Arab, this still doesn't make the joke okay and it still doesn't
give you reason to believe that person is inherently evil or that they
deserve harm.
Do the world a favor and educate yourself. Get to
know people who are different than you and learn about them as much as
you can. Knowing one or two or even 15 people different than you is not
enough. You need to be networked with groups of people who are not
like you to begin to truly understand just how much this stuff hurts
people like Darsh. And because I know almost everyone in my Facebook
feed will never get to know him, I'll post some links so you can learn
about him yourself.http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4877106http://www.cthedge.org/event/family-office-insighthttp://www.bloomberg.com/…/a1f09176-d6a8-4227-b75f-61f222d2…http://www.trinity.edu/…/pub…/trinity_people/darsh_singh.htmhttps://www.google.com/search…